ITCA Midlands Topper Traveller Series 2022-23 Round 1 at Bartley Sailing Club

Toppers lining up at the start during the Midlands Topper Traveller Round 1 at Bartley © Megan Hardiman

No sooner had the Topper World and National Championships been completed, the Midlands Region were straight into their 2022-2023 Midland Traveller Series, which consists of 8 Rounds at various Midlands clubs, starting in September and finishing in April 2023.

Round 1 kicked off at the excellent venue of Bartley Sailing Club on Sunday 4th September and the wind did not disappoint as we were greeted with a Medium 10-14 knot breeze in a southerly direction.

It was great to see the return of many of the last years series campaigners along with excellent number of new and excited Topper Sailors entering the series for the first time. We really look forward to seeing them throughout our series and watching them grow in experience and ability. Watch out for these young guns in the future!

Bartley Sailing Club is a regular support of the Midlands Topper Traveller Series and with Club Commodore; Simon Hardiman on hand as Race Officer for the day, it was certain to be an excellent event. Simon gave one of his usual clear sailing briefs so everyone knew exactly the format of the event and the racing rules being applied.

With Race 1 set for the 3 laps, it started exactly on time with excellent winds and no recalls. Katherine Gunn (Notts County) would lead the way, looking to stamp her mark on the event. Battling behind was defending Midlands Series Champion Jessica Powell (Draycote), Keali Rhodes (Northampton) and Jasper Focardi Dolling (Shropshire). With a windward mark and the subsequent reach being close to shore, the wind in this area was very shifty, making it critical to spot the gusts. It would be Katherine who would come out on top, winning the race with Jessica finishing 2nd, just ahead of Keali.

Katherine Gunn on her way to the event win during the Midlands Topper Traveller Round 1 at Bartley - photo © Megan Hardiman

For Race 2, Katherine broke free early to set a commanding lead with Keali in impressive form pushing into 2nd place. Jasper settled into a strong 3rd place early on and this would be the finishing positions at the end of the race. Throughout the field there were close battles between Jake Blakeway (Trimpley), Oscar Rowe (Draycote) and Oli Rogers (South Staffs) consistently swapping places throughout the first 2 races.

At the lunch break, it was Katherine Gunn in a dominant position with 2 race wins and only needing one further win to take event honours, 2nd was Keali followed by Jasper in 3rd.

Close sailing on the run during the Midlands Topper Traveller Round 1 at Bartley - photo © Megan Hardiman

Race 3 got under way after a short break and Jessica took the lead with Katherine tacking off early. Chloe Grayton (Notts County) having recently moved up from 4.2 sail classification to 5.3 was really getting to grips with the larger sail and was pushing hard in 3rd place. Jessica was still leading onto the final run to the finish with Katherine close behind covering excellently. Katherine would just sneak ahead of Jessica by the smallest of margins to take her 3rd race win. 2nd would go to Jessica with Jasper finishing in a very consistent 3rd place.

With the Katherine winning the event with 3 wins out of 3, it would now be down to the final race to see who could secure the final 2 podium spots. Bartley was hit with a near 90 deg wind shift and a heavy rainstorm which meant the race officer had to reset a new course. This was completed very quickly and very soon after this, the sailors were away for Race 4. Jessica hit the front at the windward mark, followed closely by event winner, Katherine. All was set for a repeat of race 3 with a close battle between Katherine and Jessica for the race win. Again Katherine would be in a position to cover Jessica on the final run, however this time Jessica held out for her first race win of the day.

After a great day of sailing, it was Katherine Gunn who won the event, ahead of Jessica Powell and Keali Rhodes taking 3rd place on count back from Jasper Focardi Dolling.

Full concentration from 4.2 Winner Morris Mellor during the Midlands Topper Traveller Round 1 at Bartley - photo © Megan Hardiman

The race for the 4.2 honours was dominated by Morris Mellor (Draycote) with a very consistent set of results from Alex Chadborn (Notts County) finishing in 2nd place. The stage looks set for these sailors to have some great races throughout the series.

With Bartley kindly donating additional prizes, we were able to award multiple very well justified "Top Topper True Grit" awards. These went to Audrey Yang (Bartley) Harry Mallen (Blithfield) and Peter Gathergood (Notts County) for always putting 100% effort in and being determined to start and finish every race. Well Done!

Congratulations to Katherine Gunn (Event Winner), Morris Mellor (4.2 Winner) and our "True Grit" Topper Sailors.

Midlands Topper Traveller Round 1 at Bartley event winners - photo © Donna Powell

Thank you to our excellent hosts Bartley Sailing Club for a superb event and again making everyone feel so welcome. We are looking forward to returning to Bartley again soon.

Thanks also to our event Sponsors; Topper Sailboats and Rooster for their continued support of Midlands Topper Traveller Series

The next event in the series is Round 2 at South Staffs Sailing Club on Saturday 1st October 2022; entry is now open and can be booked in the usual manner, via the ITCA Website, gbrtopper.ourclubadmin.com/event.php?event=1034

We look forward to you joining us there.

If any Junior Midland Topper sailors are interested in participating at the ITCA Midlands Traveller events, it is a great opportunity to enter a friendly and local race series. Please contact us on the email address arearep.midlands@itca-gbr.co.uk if you would like any more information.

Overall Results: